It was from a vet in Great Yarmouth – 140 miles away from where Holtz went missing.
She’d been dumped with an elderly male Chihuahua. Ruth recalled: “She said to me, ‘Have you lost your dog today? We’ve found her.’
“I was just stunned. I couldn’t speak. I stammered, ‘She was stolen seven years ago.’ The vet sounded confused too. She said, ‘She’s here, you can come and collect her.’
“I arranged to pick her up the next day as it was late at night and just cried and cried. For all those years I’d prayed she’d been in a nice home but if she had, they wouldn’t have just dumped her.”

Heartbreakingly, she’d been used as a breeding dog in a puppy farm and had been cruelly abandoned when she was too exhausted to produce any more litters.
She was skin and bone, her nails had grown so long she could barely walk, she had mastitis and a tumour on her leg which needs surgery.
Ruth said: “I was distraught. After seven years I was so happy to be reunited with her but thinking of what she’d been through, it was horrific. It makes me so upset and so angry. How can people be so cruel?
“When we saw her, she looked puzzled a first then started wagging her tail as she realised it was me. All I could think of was getting her home and safe again and trying to help her forget what she’d been through.

Ruth’s family rallied to help take care of her and renamed her Duchess

She’d been found just before the Royal Wedding between huge dog lover Meghan Markle and Prince Harry and Ruth and her sister Joni, 32, thought it would help her make a new start.
In the years that her dog had been missing, Ruth had another son, now two, and decided after all Duchess had been through, she needed a calm environment and Joni said she would care for her.
Ruth said: “Duchess is a senior dog, she’s nine and she’s suffered so much. I want her to be happy and to enjoy her golden years, but I was worried about my little boy as he’s so young, he just wants to play and it didn’t seem fair.
“As soon as I said that, Joni said, ‘She can come and live with me.’ I’m so grateful. She lives nearby and we see Duchess nearly every day. We just want to make every day special for her.”

There has been a seven per cent rise in dog theft in the last year

A report by Direct Line Pet Insurance found 1,909 reported cases in 2017 alone. London was the worst area in the UK, with 225 thefts, followed by West Yorkshire, 162, and Kent, 160.
Staffies continue to be the most stolen breed, however the research also uncovered a spike in thefts of crossbreeds reflecting the rise in popularity in for the likes of Cockerpoos and Puggles.
The French Bulldog was the third most commonly stolen breed, up 27 per cent from 2016. But 20 per cent of stolen dogs were reunited with their owners.
Jayne Hayes from Doglost.co.uk says: “There are lots of things we can do to keep our pets safe. Ruth did nothing wrong, her dog was in a safe place and what happened is just terrible but we are so thankful she’s home.
“It reiterates what we say to all owners who lose their dogs, never give up and always keep your microchip details up to date. We hope Duchess recovers from her ordeal and can enjoy a happy life with her family.”

• Ruth and Joni, 32, have set up a JustGiving page where well-wishers can donate to pay for her care. If you can help, visit it at www.justgiving.com

https://www.thepawpost.co.uk/news/appeal-to-help-english-bulldog-stolen-by-puppy-farmers/